Foxes Loanee Hirst Nets In Crucial Ipswich Win
- Ayoze Pérez scores in the UEFA Europa League for Real Betis
- George Hirst on target for promotion-chasing Ipswich Town
- Marc Albrighton and Hamza Choudhury feature in the second tier
- Four City youngsters gain more minutes in Sky Bet League 2
The Leicester City loanee found the net shortly before half-time in Saturday’s 2-0 win at fellow promotion chasers Bolton Wanderers, with Cameron Burgess’ goal confirming all three points for the Tractors Boys at University of Bolton Stadium.
Hirst, who played 76 minutes of that contest, will be hoping for another start up top when the Suffolk-based outfit entertain Shrewsbury Town at Portman Road in Saturday’s 3pm kick-off.
Ayoze Pérez was also on the scoresheet for his loan club, Real Betis, but could not prevent a 4-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League last-16 tie.
Cancelling out Marcus Rashford’s opener with a superb finish of his own, the Spaniard levelled the scores in Manchester, but further United goals from Anthony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst handed the Red Devils a healthy advantage heading into Thursday night’s second leg (5:45pm kick-off).
Betis are then back in La Liga action, hosting Mallorca on Sunday in a 1pm kick-off, following last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Villarreal, in which Pérez played 71 minutes. Borja Iglesias found the net first, but Yéremi Pino’s equaliser earned a point for the Yellow Submarine. It’s a result that keeps Los Verdiblancos fourth in the league, four points ahead of Villarreal.
Returning to English shores, Marc Albrighton was introduced as a second-half substitute during West Bromwich Albion’s narrow success over Huddersfield Town at The Hawthorns. Playing the final quarter of an hour in the Midlands, the winger helped see out a second successive 1-0 win, courtesy of John Swift’s penalty.
The 33-year-old returned to the starting line-up for Wednesday evening's clash with Cardiff City, which ended all square at Cardiff City Stadium. Daryl Dike gave the Baggies the lead, but Sory Kaba's equaliser meant it finished 1-1.
With no game this weekend, Carlos Corberán’s men sit eighth in the Sky Bet Championship, five points adrift of the play-offs, ahead of hosting in-form Millwall on Saturday 1 April (3pm kick-off).
Elsewhere in the second tier, Hamza Choudhury played 90 minutes of Watford’s 1-0 defeat by Queens Park Rangers last Saturday, the midfielder’s 30th appearance of 2022/23.
Tim Iroegbunam scored the only goal at Loftus Road, as Choudhury picked up a yellow card which ruled him out of the Hornets’ 3-0 triumph at home to Birmingham City on Tuesday. It’s a meeting with relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic for Chris Wilder’s side at Vicarage Road on Saturday, hosting the Latics at 3pm.
Over in Sky Bet League 2, there was a win for Ben Nelson’s Doncaster Rovers, who triumphed 2-1 at home to AFC Wimbledon. The defender played 90 minutes at Keepmoat Stadium, coming up against Development Squad team-mate Kasey McAteer, who was introduced at half-time for the Dons.
Rovers rise into the top half of the table, six points outside the play-offs, and meet the team who currently occupy that final play-off spot, Salford City, on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Wimbledon, meanwhile, were also in action in midweek and secured a 1-1 draw away to Newport County on Tuesday evening. McAteer played 90 minutes at Rodney Parade as the south-west Londoners added another point to their tally. Crawley Town are up next for the 16th-placed Dons at Cherry Red Records Stadium on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Staying in the fourth tier, goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk featured in a third successive draw for Hartlepool United, who are one point above the relegation zone following the 1-1 stalemate with Northampton Town. The Cobblers also included Foxes forward Josh Eppiah in their starting XI at The Suit Direct Stadium.
The 24-year-old striker played 45 minutes as Northampton kept the pace with the top three and are now one point outside of the automatic promotion spots with 10 games to play, the first of those against Crewe Alexandra on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Shot-stopper Stolarczyk, meanwhile, is likely to be between the sticks again on Saturday when taking on Bradford City at University of Bradford Stadium (1pm kick-off).
All times GMT.